


Good Fathers!

by QueenyClairey



Series: Married, with Children [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Dad Malec, Good fathers, M/M, Malec with kids, good dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 01:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19713910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenyClairey/pseuds/QueenyClairey
Summary: Magnus and Alec help out their oldest son who is having some problems at school.Third part of Married, With Children, but not in order as it is 1.5 years before part 2!Featuring: Ice cream in the middle of the night, which was part of a tweet I saw from Heroicgay on Twitter, but I didn't use all your idea...however, you sparked this story, so thank you!





	Good Fathers!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [heroicgay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heroicgay/gifts).



Waking up alone at 2am, was not how Alec had envisioned his night. When he and Magnus had clambered into bed a little after 10, they had both been exhausted. The twins were teething again and causing all kinds of problems for their older children. 

Marissa had lost her favourite book to Elliott’s sharp incisors and Maxxie’s priceless comic book had fallen victim to Madeline’s as well. But it was Rafa who had suffered the worst when they had somehow gotten hold of his history notebook from school. Pages of it had been chomped through and he had lost practically all of his notes from the last term.

Magnus had tried his best to rebuild the book but it wasn’t as easy as sorting out Marissa’s or Maxxie’s as it was Raf’s personal notes and not something by a publisher that Magnus could quickly recreate. 

Raf had been amazing about the whole thing, not even reprimanding his younger siblings, but Alec could see the pain in his face and the droop of shoulders. The boy was a lot like Magnus and liked to hide away his emotions until they were prised out of him. He had said a friend of his from school might help him out, but he didn’t look too certain. Luckily, Claire had comforted her brother and made him some of his favourite Indonesian desserts to cheer him up after dinner.

“I’m fine, Dad,” Raf had said before he hugged him tight and headed off to bed. But Alec could clearly see that he wasn’t and had motioned to follow his son before Magnus had pulled him away and said he should leave him be for now. 

Alec and Magnus had been worried about the fifteen year old for a while, as he had been more introverted than usual with a lot more on his mind. 

At first, the two men had put it down to exams and the stresses of being a high-school student, but lately it had seemed like more. But until Raf spoke to them about it, Magnus had insisted that they shouldn’t pry.

After saying good night to the older brood, he and Magnus had rocked Elliott and Madeline to sleep side by side, staying with them until they were truly out. Holding his daughter, Alec felt peace settle low in his stomach. It had been a long time since he had felt so content. Magnus beside him with Elliott, their four older children sleeping quietly and neither of them facing any personal difficulties at work for once. Before they went to bed, they set up the baby monitors to keep an eye on the twins.

Although they were only one and a half, they were very able warlocks already. Madeline could float teddies and other toys to her side in an instant and Eliott was already able to conjure small objects from around the house when he desperately wanted them. Since this had recently included a jar of jam which had smashed on the floor on its way, Alec had become even more vigilant. 

Magnus had reconfigured the baby monitors to catch any magical actions so that one of them could be there to stop anything untoward from happening. But when there was a problem in the middle of the night, it was generally Magnus’ job. He was happy to do it as he knew that Alec always needed more sleep than him and couldn’t catch forty-winks at his desk during the day, unlike Magnus who often took naps with his youngest children while juggling his clients. 

So, when he woke up alone, Alec assumed one of the twins was causing a magical disturbance. He snuggled into his husband’s side of the bed, burying his face in his pillow to breath in his scent. They had planned to wake up early and enjoy a little alone time since it had been far too long due to having six children all under the age of eighteen. But if Magnus was up through the night, their plans might need to change. 

Sighing, Alec rolled himself up and out of their bed, padding over the soft carpet to open their bedroom door. He made his way into the twins’ room, beside theirs, and peeked inside. But Magnus wasn’t there and both children were sleeping calmly in their cots.

Sneaking back out, he listened for any signs of his husband. But there was nothing. 

It was possible, of course, that someone had called for his help as the high warlock, but it was unlikely that he wouldn’t have woken Alec to tell him he was leaving the house. 

Perplexed, Alec tiptoed towards the kitchen, where Magnus was most likely to be, and was greeted with the sight of his handsome husband sitting on one counter, their eldest son opposite him on the other. They both had tubs of ice cream in their hands and Magnus was gesturing to Raf with his silver spoon. 

He watched them for a moment, catching the tail end of Magnus’ comment. “...hard, but you’re strong son.”

“Hey Mags,” Alec said, smiling softly at his husband before turning to look at their son. “Raf are you okay? It seems late for treats?”

“Raf was just talking to me about some things from school, Alexander,” Magnus said, smiling over at Raf and asking him a question without speaking. 

“Dad,” Raf began, holding out his spoon to Alec, who stepped over to take it and the carton of their shared favourite, Cookies and Cream - simple and classic they both always agreed. “I wanted to talk to you both. But Papa was up checking on the twins so I spoke with him first, I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, sweetheart, of course I don’t mind. You know we’ll both listen anytime and neither of us is offended over who you speak with as long as you feel that you can speak with one of us. It’s not a competition!” He shot a rueful grin at Magnus, who nodded to him with pleased eyes. “What’s up?”

“Sit with Papa?” Raf asked, so Alec moved over to his husband and hoisted himself onto the counter, one of Magnus’ arms coming to rest around him, fingertips crawling under his tank top to stroke his hip lightly. Alec leaned into Magnus’ hold, taking comfort from his husband’s warmth and scooped up a mouthful of ice cream, figuring a little wouldn’t hurt.

“I’ve been having some problems at school, dad.” Raf began, eyes pleading with Alec not to overreact. Magnus’ hand squeezed Alec a little tighter to him, warning his Shadowhunter to listen first.

“There were a few boys giving me a hard time. I had a disagreement with them and one of our teachers got involved.” He paused and indicated that he would like the ice cream back, so Alec passed it over. 

While Magnus magicked his tub back into the freezer, Alec leaned over to link their free hands together on his lap, anticipating that the story was going to get worse and he may need his husband’s support.

He nodded at Raf, who took a mouthful of dessert before he continued. “It was a disagreement over you two, dad. They thought that I was a weakling because I have two dads and no mum. I didn’t think they were right and we had...we had words.”

Alec clenched his fingers tightly in Magnus’ who squeezed him closer. He had clearly already heard the story as his reaction was only to flinch a little. 

“And then, Raf?” he asked.

“One of them made it physical. Hit me in the stomach until I was sick.”

Alec couldn’t control himself, his anger causing him to squeeze his fist tightly and make a thoroughly disgruntled noise which may have been a well-concealed swear word.

“That requires a dollar in the swear jar, Mr. Lightwood-Bane,” his husband quipped calmly, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. Raf laughed a little as Alec moaned, ‘Tomorrow!’. 

“How come we didn’t know about this Raf?” Alec asked then, carefully controlling his anger at the sitaution to speak rationally with his son. 

“I asked a friend of Madzie’s to help heal the bruises. I just didn’t want you to get too mad, dad. I knew you would react badly and you’d be at school and they would have the satisfaction of knowing it had hurt me.”

“But it did hurt you.” Alec said angrily. “It hurt you, baby, and you didn’t feel like you could tell us. I can’t believe I’m such a bad dad. I’m so sorry I didn’t see what was happening. Oh god!”

He jumped out of Magnus’ hold, from where he had been trying to comfort him, and began to pace on the kitchen tiles. 

“You’re not a bad father, my love,” Magnus said, jumping down too and stopping Alec in his tracks. He pulled him into his arms and pressed a second kiss to his cheek. “You told me, several weeks ago, that something wasn’t right with Raf. But I insisted we waited. So really, it’s my fault that we didn’t know. If we’d spoken to Raf as you suggested perhaps we would have known earlier.”

“No Papa!” Raf said, jumping down and joining his two fathers. He wormed his way into the middle of their hug, a talent he had possessed since he had become theirs at age 6, and hugged them both close. “I wouldn’t have told either of you anything then. I would have been even more secretive and unwilling and it would have been worse. I promise, neither of you did anything wrong.”

Alec pulled his son and his husband closer, cradling them against his body in his strong arms. “Oh Raf my baby boy, I’m so so sorry, I will always want to protect you and keep you safe. It’s my job, I’m your dad. I don’t ever want to hear about something like this so long after again, I want to know as soon as it happens. You’re my boy and I love you more than life itself. I love all of you like that. I used to say that Magnus was my world,” Magnus grunted in the affirmative, holding Alec more tightly, “But now, you guys are my world. We’re the eight musketeers always! We’re the most incredible family to ever exist and no-one comes between us. Not bullies at school, or demons or disgruntled clients at work! Okay?”

“Yes dad,” Raf said, squeezing himself tighter into his dad’s hold.

“So, are you telling me you let them get away with it?” Alec said then, pulling back to look at his son whose face was now flushed red. 

Magnus coughed. He shook his head as Raf squirmed away from them. 

“No, darling, they definitely got their punishment. Go on, Raf, you tell him what you did! He’ll either be hella proud of you, or you’ll be grounded for a month. Whatever your dad decides I agree with, after all we both know he’s the disciplinarian around here!”

Alec gave him a look that meant he would be in trouble for saying that later (although perhaps it would be pleasurable trouble…) and then looked straight at his son, encouraging him to tell him the truth.

“Well…” Raf began, pacing away from them and leaning against the sink. He cocked a hip, fingers clutched tightly around himself. “I...I asked Madzie to help me.”

“And?” Alec said, the worst possible thoughts flying through his mind as he recalled the last time he had seen Madzie angry and the whirlpool she had conjured that had begun to suck things into another dimension, before Cat and Magnus had managed to calm her down.

“She made it so that every time they stepped outside, freezing cold rain soaked them...for a whole day…” Raf admitted, a small grin quirking his lips. 

“What? Why would she choose that?” Alec asked in surprise as he stared at his son.

“Apparently it’s an old punishment they used to use for people who wronged others. They would make them take cold showers...so Madzie made her own twist. I dunno dad...Madzie chose it, but she did it for me and it was really funny...for a while. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but I wanted them to feel as miserable as they made me feel.”

“And?” Alec asked.

“Well at first, I thought it was really funny and I was glad that they were being punished. But then they were getting really miserable and cold and looking pathetic. So I felt bad. I asked Madzie to stop, but she couldn’t work out how to reverse the spell, so I told them not to go outside as it seemed like the rain was following them and one of them agreed and thanked me but the others were not so nice.” Raf admitted in a rush.

“And how did that make you feel, Raf?” Alec asked as he gazed at his oldest son, deciding what he should do about the situation. Magnus reached out for him again and pulled him close to his side, arm linking around his waist, holding him in place.

“Terrible dad. In the end I felt worse than when they made me sick. I hated it.”

“Good. Then you’ve already punished yourself my darling. I don’t need to say anything else to you. Except,” Alec held up a finger and pointed it at Raf. “You don’t sit in silence about these things. You’re our son. We love you and we would never want you to feel like you cannot share anything with us. You do badly in a test, we want to know, you get in a fight, same. God forbid, you get a girl pregnant...We’ll always want to know and we’ll always be there for you. You’re ours!” Alec insisted, holding out his arms for Rafa to run into.

The three-way hug lasted a long while, and before it finished, Rafa whispered, “Well, the last one dad, about getting girls pregnant...that’s not going to be an issue. I’m pretty certain I’m just like my dad in that department.”

Alec bent and kissed the top of his head, feeling Magnus pulling them both even tighter to his chest. “Okay, son. Thanks for telling us. But whatever it is, we’re here. Now you need to go to bed! You still have to go to school in the morning. Love you.”

“Love you too dad, papa!” Rafa said, smiling a little wider and with a little more ease. “Goodnight.”

Once they heard his door shut, Alec turned to face his husband. “Did you know he was gay?” he asked him with a smile.

“No, darling. I may have suspected, but I didn’t know for sure. I was waiting for him to tell us.”

“Ah, well I’m glad he did. I wish he’d felt like he could tell us about the teasing though…”

“I know my love, but he did eventually. And you were right not to punish him. He definitely learned his lesson. I could tell he was miserable about the outcome.”

“Well, that’s because his Papa raised him so well and taught him right from wrong. You’re an amazing father, Magnus!” 

“As are you Alexander. I love you.” He pressed a kiss to Alec’s lips that lingered for a while, before Alec pulled him towards their room by one enormous hand. “Don’t forget you owe the swear jar a dollar...I’m thinking we can go out for pizza tomorrow with all your contributions...after all the eight musketeers should always celebrate together! And Raf sharing that with us, that deserves celebrating!”

He pulled Alec into their bedroom then and they curled around one another, Magnus re-setting the alarm for 5:30am so they could have some cuddle time before their brood awoke.

“Love you, Magnus,” Alec whispered into his husbands neck, breathing in his scent as he left a soft kiss on his collarbone. 

“Love you too, Alexander,” Magnus whispered back, tightening his arm across his hips as they drifted off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Cute! Cutest! I love these soft husbands! Let me know what you think!


End file.
